The recent storms that tore through the state have made hundreds, if not thousands, of Kentuckians homeless. I'm writing today to ask for your help so that we can do what REALTORS® do best, build communities.

The Kentucky Association of REALTORS® has partnered with the National Association of REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RRF) to fund and administer a housing assistance program to people who were affected by the storms. The RRF and KAR have jump started the donation relief effort, but we need everyone in the REALTOR® family to pitch in.

Many homeowners and renters have lost everything due to the storms' destruction. Adding insult to injury, people will be obligated to make mortgage payments on homes that no longer exist or will not be habitable again for many months, while at the same time paying for temporary housing. Please click here to read more about these efforts, the relief program or to give.

Featured Speaker: Oliver FrasconaOliver E. Frascona practices in areas that include real estate, brokerage law, contracts, finance, land use, leasing, real estate title, business law, association law, and litigation. Frascona is also a REALTOR®, author, speaker who presents almost daily on agency, ethics, financing, legal risk reduction and professional standards education. Oliver's the entertaining, can't-miss, makes-you-remember-his seminar kind of speaker that every REALTOR® will enjoy listening to. You will be sure to walk away with ideas that can be implemented in your business immediately and ways to reduce you and your agents' risk.

Other topics being covered include E&O insurance, financing/mortgage, legal issues, technology, KY's economic climate and industry updates at the state and national levels. The day will be filled with take-aways that you can implement at your office and share with your agents immediately!

GRI is the only designation you don't have to pay or renew to keep. Based on 2011 survey data, the median income of REALTORS without a designation was $26,900 and the median income of those with at least one designation was $49,300. A difference of $22,400. Need another reason to earn the designation - all GRI courses count towards CE. A change for this year is the GRI specific electives will not be offered, however, any NAR certification or designation course hours - online or classroom - will count as GRI elective hours, call KAR for more info 800.264.2185.

REALTORS® are required to complete ethics training for the current cycle running January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2012. Failure to complete the required ethics training will be considered a violation of a membership duty and could result in membership suspension or termination. REALTOR® members can verify ethics completion by checking with their primary local association and should notify the primary local association when their requirement is completed.

There are several options offered by KREEF to satisfy the requirement and more may be added:

New for KAR members, the chance to advertise in the only state-wide real estate publication is now available. Limited space is available so act now to be included. Pricing is affordable. To learn more, email hcooper@kar.com, call 800.264.2185 or click here.

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Nationwide Open House - April 28 & 29

KAR is teaming up with associations across the country for the third annual Nationwide Open House weekend. The purpose is to encourage those who are thinking of buying a home to take advantage of unique home market factors including low interest rates, good selection of inventory and Kentucky's low cost of homeownership. REALTORS® should also take this opportunity to educate potential home buyers on the benefits of homeownership.

Promotional materials including logos, press releases, talking points and more can be found on the website.

KAR members can save up to 30% off UPS Express air and international shipments. All this with the peace of mind that comes from using the carrier that delivers outstanding reliability, greater speed, more service, and innovative technology. UPS guarantees delivery of more packages around the world than anyone, and delivers more packages overnight on time in the US than any other carrier.

Members currently enrolled in the UPS Savings Program must re-enroll to take advantage of this new exclusive offer.

KAR members can save: * Up to 30% on UPS Next Day Air® and Worldwide Express® * Up to 23% on UPS 2nd Day Air® * Up to 10% on business services at The UPS Store®

Do you have clients that wish they still had access to the Home Buyer Tax Credit?

With Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) they still do!

KHC's Home Buyer Tax Credit is available through a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC), which reduces the amount of federal income tax paid by a homeowner, giving them more available income to qualify for a mortgage loan. The tax credit is effective for the life of the loan, as long as the homeowner lives in the home! Home buyers must use an MCC-approved lender.

To learn more about the KHC Home Buyer Tax Credit, as well as all the other programs offered by KHC, visit KHC's website. You can stay up-to-date on all KHC news, events, and products through KHC's eGram service. Register today!

Get involved in a program that will boost Kentucky's Call-for-Action response rates. If you are a real estate broker in Kentucky, please enroll (it's free and easy), and if you are an agent, please encourage your broker to join this effective network of broker leadership in public advocacy for REALTORS® across the United States.